Adjustment mechanism for industrial maintenance machines



Feb. 25, 1969 s. w. COLLIER 3,428,984

ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM FOR INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE MACHINES Filed Oct. 24, 1966 INVENTOR. s n/v5) w. COLL/ER United States Patent 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carrier having a wheel carriage and a body portion. Mounted to the body portion is a circular brush and a motor adapted to rotate the brush. To permit adjustment of the center of gravity of the carrier, 21 pair of grooves is formed in the body portion and is adapted to slidably receive a pair of flanges which forms a part of the wheeled carriage. Screws pass through apertures in the body portion to engage the flanges and secure the body portion to the wheeled carriage where desired. A cover is positioned over the circular brush and has a number of keyholes through which screws pass to removably secure the cover to the body portion.

The invention relates in general to industrial maintenance equipment and more particularly to manually movable motor powered carriers for general cleaning.

An object of this invention is to provide a carrier adapted for use with interchangeable size attachments that is simple in construction and easy to adjust for proper use with each size attachment connected thereto.

The improved mechanism for providing a novel adjusting means, may be described in connection with a manually movable motor powered carrier with a replaceable attachment but it is to be understood that the invention applies to carriers of all types. Also for the purpose of clarity and simplicity, the replaceable attachment will be described in the remainder of the specification as a brush used with the carrier but it should be understood to include all types of replaceable attachments. The brush carrier may be considered as comprising, the combination of: a body portion, a motor having a rotatably driven shaft supported by said body portion, a handle attached to said body portion, a replaceable brush, a brush cover detachably connected to the bottom of said body portion for shrouding said brush, a wheel carriage co-operating with said body portion for transporting said carrier, connecting means for detachably connecting said brush to said shaft for rotation therewith, and an adjustment mechanism associated with the wheel carriage and the body portion adapted to permit the adjustment of the center of gravity of the carrier for each size brush attached thereto. The novel adjustable mechanism permits the substitution of different size brush covers and brushes on the same body portion of the carrier. This permits an operator to do a number of maintenance jobs merely by substituting the easily detachable brush and brush cover on the same brush carrier. This is possible by adjusting the position of the wheels on the wheel carriage in relation to the body portion and brush cover of the carrier.

It should be noted that any use of the word rotate or any of its forms, as used herein, in connection with the invention is taken to mean oscillate and vibrate also.

An object of the invention is the provision of an adjustment mechanism associated with the body portion and the wheel carriage of a brush carrier to permit the adjustment of the center of gravity for different size rotatable brushes used on the one carrier.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an adjustment mechanism in association with the body portion and the wheel carriage of a brush carrier to provide a means for permitting full brush wear of the brushes used on the carrier.

It is found in practice with brush carriers for industrial maintenance now used that each size rotatable brush is shrouded with a specific size brush cover attached to the body portion. It is desirable that any brush be attached to the carrier so as to press on the floor with a maximum pressure at the center axis of the motor. The distance between the motors axis and the center of gravity of the carrier should be adjusted in order that the brush presses at the correct position and in order that the brush exerts an equal pressure over its entire face. A brush carrier is less effective for use with different size brushes without means for adjusting its centre of gravity. The present carrier has a novel adjustable mechanism having a body portion and a wheel carriage co-operating with the body portion for permitting the substitution of difierent size brush covers and brushes on the same body portion of the carrier and for permitting the adjustment of the distance betwen the motors axis and the center of gravity of the carrier for the particular size brush the operator wishes to use. This adjustment mechanism also provides a means by which the operator can easily adjust the carrier so that the pressure for each size brush placed thereon is at the shaft of the motor for uniform wear on the bristles of the brush.

In the practice it is known that each size brush or possibly a certain group of brushes should have a motor of the proper horsepower to provide the proper speed of rotation for that brush. This means that when a dilferent size brush which needs a dilferent horsepower motor is attached to the body portion, the motor must be replaced. All motors are attached to the body portion by easily removable locking means which permits substitution thereof by the operator when required. Previously, the operator would be more apt to substitute a new brush carrier than change the motor but with the novel invention, one brush carrier will be adaptable to a full line of brush cover and brush sizes and the operator will be able to adjust the carrier easily on the job, as required.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brush carrier with the invention incorporated therein;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective side elevation view showing the adjusting mechanism associated with the body portion and the wheel carriage of the brush carrier;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the brush carrier with just the brush cover attached.

With reference to the drawings, the invention is illustrated as being incorporated in a manually operated motor powered brush carrier, indicated generally by the reference character 10*. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the brush carrier comprises a body portion 11 to which is mounted an electric motor 12 (not shown) inside a hood 53 and a fork casting 13 part of which is shown, to which is attached a handle 14 by pins 83 (only one shown), and a brush cover 58. A wheel carriage 15 co-operates with the body portion 11 by means of an adjustable mechanism, indicated generally by the reference 30. The handle 14 with hand grips 22 and 23 and the wheel carriage 15 are interconnected by two support rods 16 and 17 which are attached to the wheel axial rod 18 near the wheels 19 and 20 at one end respectively and extend upwardly therefrom to be linked at the other end with an adjustable handle clamp 21 which circumscribes the handle 14 by terminating in two projections (only one shown) on the bottom side of the handle clamp 21. A locking means 24 at the side of the handle clamp 21 permits space position adjustment of the 3 handle 14 with relation to the wheel carriage 15 and the body portion 11 for the comfortable use of the carrier by any operator.

The motor 12 within hood 53 is attached to the support platfrom by four threaded bolts of which 54 and 55 are two. The motor 12 has its shaft (not shown) extending in a vertical downward direction into a gear box 61, shown in FIG. 2, provided with a snap-on detachable clutch plate 62 for selectively receiving the various brushes 70 to be attached thereto. The motor 12 and the gear box 61 are vertically positioned in relation to the support platform 25, shown in FIG. 1, so that the gear box 61 is usually below the platform 25.

When it is desired to use a certain size brush 70 with the machine, the proper size brush cover 58, shown best in FIG. 2, which shrouds the brush 70 should be used. The cover 58 has a center aperture 59 and five holes with slot extensions 63 to 67 positioned around the aperture 58 which are to be located on set screws 74, 75, 76, 38, 39 attached to the carrier as described hereinbelow.

The holes with the slot extensions on the brush cover provide a suitable means for removing the brush cover 58 from the carrier 18. After the screws 74, 75, 76, 38 and 39 are loosened the cover can be rotated counterclockwise easily until the screws are out of the slots and in the respective apertures which should be larger in diameter than the heads of the set screws. The cover 58 can then be easily pulled off the screws. To replace a new size brush cover 58 thereon when the set screws 38 and 39 are placed in the proper position by the necessary adjustments to be described hereinbelow is merely a reversal of the procedure above. On the circumference of the brush cover 58 is a bumper 59 made of vinyl to prevent damaging woodwork and furniture when the machine is being used. The brush 70 which is rotated by the motor 12 comprises a wooden or metal back 71 to which bristles 72 are suitably secured. As shown in FIG. 2, secured to the top of the brush back 71 is a detachable connecting means 73 for receiving the detachable clutch plate 62 attached to the gear box 61. However, any suitable means can be used to attach the brush 70 on the motor 12 if need be.

As shown best in FIG. 2, the body portion 11 has a motor supporting platform 25 formed in a U-shape with a downwardly extending skirt 26 on three sides and an opening 40 in one end. Extending upwardly attached to the inner surface of the skirt 26 are three bosses 27, 28, and 29. The three bosses are traversed longitudinally by three threaded holes for three threaded set screws 74, 75 and 76 which are used to position and attach the brush cover 58 to the body portion 11. The opening 40 is a T-shaped opening, with recesses 41 and 42, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for receiving the guide member generally indicated with the reference 31, with the projections 32 extending laterally from each side (only one shown) of the wheel carriage 15. Two elevated portions 43 and 44 are formed at opposite sides of support platform 25. A pair of threaded apertures are formed in each elevated portion 43 and 44 and are adapted to receive locking screws 49. The locking screws 49 engage the platform 32 of the guide member 31 when tightened to prevent the wheel carriage 15 from rocking when the carrier is operated.

The guide member 31 of the wheel carriage 15 has a semi-circular opening at the front edge of the platform 34, shown in FIG. 2, to remove any possibility of any part of the wheel carriage 15 interfering with any moving parts associated with the motor 12. Traversin-g the bottom of the platform 34 is a bar 35, shown in FIG. 2, shaped so that two portions 36 and 37 of one surface of the bar 35 are in the same horizontal plane as the horizontal surface of the bosses 27, 28 and 29. Three threaded holes 3 to 5 and 6 to 8 traverse each portion 36 and 37 respectively for the location of one of screws 38 and 39 respectively in each. The positioning of the set screws 38 and 39 in one of the holes in portions 36 and 37 will be governed by the size of the brushcover '58 for the particular size of brush CJI to be put on the carrier 10. It was found that certain groups of sizes of brush covers can be used with the screws 38 and 39 in one position, for example, the innermost holes 5 and 8, with the adjustment mechanism 30 adjusted accordingly. It was also found suitable to provide just these alternative positions, 3 and 6, 4 and 7, 5 and 8, to cover the range of brush sizes from a 13 inch to a 22 inch circumference. The guide member 31 is longitudinally adjustable in the opening 40 so that the wheel carriage 15 can be positioned relative to the body portion 11 for positioning the brush cover 58 on the set screws 74, 75, 76 on the body portion 11 and the set screws 38 and 39 of the wheel carriage 15.

When it is desired to use a different size brush 7 0 with the brush carrier 10, assuming the motor 12 need not be changed, the carrier 10 would be positioned so the operator would have access to removing the brush from the clutch plate 62. Then the set screws 74, 75, 76, 38 and 39 which hold the brush cover 58 in place would be loosened and the loose brush cover 58 rotated counterclockwise so that the set screws would be free of the slot portions and all the set screws are in the apertures where the brush cover 58 could be easily removed. The four locking screws 49 of the adjustable mechanism 30 would then be loosened so as to assure the proper location of the new brush cover 58 to be mounted on the set screws.

The new brush cover 58 is then mounted on the set screws with the proper positioning of the two set screws 38 and 39 being located by the longitudinal adjustment of the adjusting mechanism 30. The screws are thus in the apertures 63 to 67 on the brush cover 58 and by rotating the cover clockwise the set screws will engage the slots of the apertures to hold the brush cover in its desired position. All the set screws are then tightened so that the brush cover 58 is secured to the body portion 11 and the wheel carriage 15. The locking screws 49 are then tightened and the new size brush 70 is properly mounted on the clutch plate 62. The carrier is ready to operate again.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, for example, not using positioning means (set screws) on the wheel carriage to hold the brush cover in place to assist in obtaining the desired location of the center of gravity. Therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A manually movable motor-powered carrier for industrial maintenance comprising: a body portion having a replaceable attachment mounted thereon; a wheel carriage co-operating with said body portion for transporting said carrier; an adjustable mechanism associated with said wheel carriage and said body portion adapted to permit the adjustment of the center of gravity of the carrier for each size attachment connected thereto, said adjustable mechanism including an opening in the end of said body portion, a guide member on said wheel carriage adapted to be slidably received within said opening to desired positions relative to said body portion, and locking means for preventing the displacement of said wheel carriage from a desired position relative to said body portion; a detachable cover shrouding said replaceable attachment; and adjustable fastening means for connecting said cover to said body portion, said fastening means adapted to permit the removal of one size cover and the replacement therewith by another size brush cover without removing said fastening means from said body portion.

2. The carrier in claim 1 wherein said cover has a plurality of apertures with slots extending therefrom, said apertures being aligned with said fastening means to permit the positioning of the cover thereon, said fastening means adapted to permit said cover to be rotated so that the shaft of said fastening means will enter the slots associated with each aperture they project through, and means for affixing 5 the cover to the body portion by adjusting the fastening means.

3. The carrier in claim 1 wherein said wheel carriage includes a transverse bar with a plurality of threaded holes in two portions thereof afiixed to said wheel carriage, and an adjustable threaded fastening means associated with the threaded holes of each portion for attaching said cover to said wheel carriage.

4. A carrier with a replaceable attachment for industrial maintenance comprising, the combination of: a body portion, a motor having a rotatably driven shaft supported by said body portion, a handle for manually moving said carrier mounted on said body portion, a replaceable attachment, connecting means for detachably connecting said attachment to said shaft for rotation therewith, an attachment cover connected to the bottom of said body portion for shrouding said attachment, a wheel carriage cooperating with said body portion for transporting said carrier, and an adjustable mechanism associated with said wheel carriage and said body portion adapted to permit the adjustment of the center of gravity of the carrier for each size attachment connected thereto.

5. The carrier in claim 4 wherein said adjusting means comprises an opening, in one end of said body portion, a guide member on said wheel carriage adapted to be received within said opening for providing a means for lengthening or shortening the distance between the center of the rotatably driven shaft and the center of gravity of the carrier, and locking means on said body portion for securing said wheel carriage in the desired position with respect to the body portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,288,646 7/1942 Ragsdale 51-177 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

